


1874. 



d ^1 
.C9 L3 
Copy 1 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



SPEECH 



OF 



HOK WILLIA3I H. LAMPORT, 



NEW YORK, 



IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



MAY 8, 1874 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

^ ■-- 1874. 






SPEECH 

OF 

HON. WILLIAM H. LAMPORT 



The House liaviug UBder consideration the bill, (H. E. Xo. 216-2,) as follows : 
A bill siipplementary to the act entitled "An act to establish a Department of 
Agriculture," approved May 15, 1862. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Congress asembled, That the Department of Agriculture, as it now ex- 
ists under the provisions of $he act of. May 15, 1862, be, and the same is hereby, 
constituted an Executive Department of the United States, to be called the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, the head of which shall be called the Secretary of Agricul- 
ture, who shall be appointed by the President of the United States, whenever a 
vacancy occurs, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall 
hold his office by the same tenure and receive the same salary as the Secretaries of 
he other Executive Departments, and who shall perform all the duties which now 
devolve upon the Commissioner of Agriculture by the act of May 15, 1862, to which 
this is a supplement, and such others as may be imposed upon him by the Congress 
of the United States. 

Sec. 2. That there shall be prepared, under the direction of the Secretary of 
Agriculture, a common seal, with such device as will de.signate the Department to 
which it belongs, \)j which all the papers, documents, and records of said Depart- 
ment shall be authenticated, and to which full faith and credit shall be given, as is 
now provided for that of all the other Executive Departments of the United States — 

Mr. Li3IP0ET said : 

Mr. Speaker: I embrace this opportunity to express my appro- 
bation of the bill before the House, and give my reasons briefly 
for its approval ; and lest I forget it I compliment my honorable 
friend from lovra [Mr. Wilsox] for his moral courage in introduc- 
ing this bill, notwithstanding the antagonisms* so palpably expressed 
by the action of the House against the Agricultural Department. I 
regard this bill a necessity to the life and perpetuity of this depart- 
ment. * And I trust it will bring the question of life or death before 
the House to be disposed of on its merits, and either save the Agri- 
cultural Department with an honorable status, or wi]3e it out as un- 
worthy of consideration by this Congress. 

An act was passed and approved May 15, 1862, establishiug at the 
seat of Government of the United States a Department of Agricul- 
ture, the general design and duties of which were to accxuire and dif- 
fuse among the people of the United States useful information on 
subjects connected with agriculture in the general and comprehensive 
sense of the word, and to procure and i)ropagate and distribute 
among the people new and valuable plants and seeds. This enact- 
ment was hailed by the farmers of the country as a new era in the 
advancement of agriculture, and received their hearty commenda- 
tion. The question can now be propounded with propriety, was 
this enactment a wise one ? And did the interest of this, the great- 
est and most important American industry, justify the measure 
with necessary expenditure ? I answer, yes. And to enforce my 



judgment I beg permission of the House to go somewhat into detail. 
The Commissioner of Agriculture, in his report for 1872, says : 

The minds of men all over the world are constantly employed in tlie search after 
human knowledge in all that concerns the fruitfulness of the earth, as well as the 
philosophical principles which govern its mysterious operations ; and it is the prov- 
ince of this department to mark well the progx-ess that is made and keep its con- 
stituents advised of its value and how they may avail themselves of advantages to 
he eained, with its immense and almost measureless extent of this country as a 
flelcT of agricultural employment. "We must not fail to watch, learn, and carefully ex- 
amine whatever may promise to add to the sum of human happiness, which springs 
from the carefully cultivated earth. 

When we call to remembrance the large proportion of the world's inhabitants 
who depend upon agricultural pursuits for their support in life, it gives us encour- 
agement to believe that the work we do reaches further and strikes deeper into the 
interest of mankind than comes within the scope of any other human effort. It 
behooves this Government to be foremost in teaching those lessons of progressive, 
practical, and scientific agriculture in accordance with the measure of the great 
opportunities which we possess to learn them as they occur. 

You Trill observe, Mr. Si^eaker, that this department in its organ- 
ization sought to impress on the public mind this axiom in political 
economy, that the smaller products of a diversified industry are far 
more than an equivalent for a single result of organized labor, how- 
ever absorbing or important ; hence the geijins of this organization 
was to diffuse among the people of the United States useful informa- 
tion on subjects connected with agriculture "in the general and com- 
prehensive sense of the word." And herein is the reason tor the univer- 
sal demand for the rei)ort of the department, which is more generally 
read and appreciated than any document printed by Congress. 

But, sir, can I maintain my assumption that the agricultural indus- 
tries of this country are, and of right ought to be, estimated the most 
important and greatest? 

Do not understand me as underrating the other great and impor- 
tant industries of the country ; but great and vitally important as 
they are, they are in great part dependent on agriculture. 

But, sir, to the facts and figures. I find by the census of 1870 that 
the farmers of this country have in use as improved lauds 188,921,099 
acres, valued in cash at $i9,262,S03,861. These lands were cultivated 
by machinery at a cost of $336,878,429. The total amount of wages 
paid during the year, including board, was $310,286,285. 

The total products of cereals, (consisting of wheat, Indian corn, oats, 
rye, buckwheat, and barley,) in all the States and Territories of the 
United States, amounted in the year — 

Bi{shels. 

1840 to 615,535,077 

1850 to 867, 4.54, 032 

1860 to 1,238,138,947 

1870 to 1,357,230,096 

The aggregate cereal product of all the nations of Europe in 1868, 
with a total poi)ulation of 296,128,293, was reported to the inter- 
national statistical congress at the Hague, in 1869, to be 4,754,516^604 
bushels, being 16 bushels to the head. The product in the United 
States in 1870, of 1,357,230,096 bushels, with a population of 38,558,371, 
was 35 bushels to the head. 

I will endeavor to impress the House more perfectly by bringing to 
your notice the amount and value of a few of those products that 
may be termed staples, for time would fail me to go into detail. The 
farmers of this country produced, as per census of 1870, 287,745,626 
bushels of wheat, 760,944,540 bushels of Indian corn, 3,011,996 bales 
of cotton, 100,102,387 pounds of wool, 514,092,683 pounds of butter, 
53,492,153 pounds of cheese, orchard products valued at to |47,335,189, 



market-gardeu products $'20,719,-2-29. But I must content myself in 
X)assing over tlie vast number and amount of items that go to make 
up the value and importance of this great industry. The question 
very properly arises Jiow do these products directly affect the substan- 
tial interests of the country f 

I invite yoiu- attention for a moment, while I attempt to solve this 
problem. 

The export of agricultural products for the year ending June 30, 
1873, are as follows: 39.204,285 bushels vrheat, value $ol,452,204 ; 
2,562,086 barrels wheat iiour, value $19,331,664 ; 38,541,930 bushels 
Indian corn, value $23,794,694 ; corn meal, value $1,474,827 ; 482,410 
bushels barley, value $323,187 ; rve andrve flour, value $515,676; oats 
714,072 bushels, value 290,.575; 2,609,254 bales cotton,value $227,243,069, 
to which should be added a considerable amount of manufactured 
cotton. 

You will observe I have omitted a large amount of products f ;r 
fear I should weary the House. 

But I have approximated my object, and have given you the figures 
of the few staple productions for the year 1870, and some of the prod- 
ucts exported during the year ending June 30, 1873. Again, sir, this 
great industry affects the substantial interests of the country by not 
only producing bread, meat, and clothing, but it furnishes the basis 
of transportation. The honorable gentleman from Iowa, [Mr. Wil- 
son,] in his speech on interstate commerce, declares from his stand- 
13ointthat "the want of proper facilities to transport four hundred 
million bushels of grain is the main object sought ;" but in addition 
to that five hundred thousand tons of pork have been packed in this 
locality during the last year, and as many tons of live hogs are moved 
easterly each year, and nearly all the surplus beef and mutton, 510,025 
head of cattle and 145,016 head of sheep having been shipped by rail 
from Chicago during the year ending June 30, 1873. Again, sir, the 
vast amount of agricultural products necessitates the employment 
and support of thousands of men termed dealers and middle-men. 
These products become the great commodities of commerce ; in fact 
railroads, rivers, lakes, canals, and the ocean are dependencies on the 
productions of the farmer. 

These statements, which are very meager, show something of the 
real and substantial acquisitions of the country. Commerce and 
trade, invaluable in themselves, are in fact ideal; exchange of com- 
modities is not an acquisition in fact ; money passing from one man's 
pocket to another's is not a real accumulation, but agricultural prod- 
ucts are real, substantial accumulations. " Grain," says Adam Smith, 
"is the regulating commodity by which all commodities are fairly 
measured and determined." How impressive this principle of politi- 
cal economy as developed in the late panic. Panics are the financial 
epidemics that test the financial ability of men. They challenge 
confidence, and not unfrequently shake financial marts to their very 
center. During the late panic it was reported that in Wall street, 
New York, which is reputed to be the great financial menagerie, 
where huUs and hears hold undisputed sway, not unfrequently the 
paper of the great railroad king, who is estimated to be worth from 
fifty to one hundred million dollars, was hawked about the streets 
with strong collaterals without negotiation. Trust companies, bank- 
ers, brokers, and money-shavers were in a perfect frenzy ; a dark 
and portentous cloud seemed to lower over the whole country ; a 
financial paralysis was the result. Then commenced that fearful 
process, shrinkage, and fortunes withered as new-mown grass before 



the noonday .snn. It was said by my bonoraWe colleague, [Mr. Mer- 
RiAM,] in Lis speecli on banking and currency, that a millionaire of 
New Jersey "aisclaiming forever liis vast possessions, assumed tbe 
attitude of injured innocence exiled from bis hard-earned many mil- 
lions, stood before us a confessed pauper," a victim of the panic. 
What avail then were bank balances, bonds, stocks, promises to pay ? 

But, sir, there was a silver lining to that fearful cloud. The granges 
who hold the granaries of the world came to the rescue ; they threw 
their granary-doors open ; British gold came to us by the million. For 
what ? For bread. The agricultural products of the country were then 
apin-eciated ; the balance'of trade began to turn in our favor. Grain, 
was indeed a realit;i; confidence fouiuled on real balances began to 
return ; the panic was appeased, the country was saved — and by what ? 
By agricultural products. And but for this reality our country might 
now be humiliated in bankruptcy. Sir, agricufturists ask no gra- 
tuity ; but ought not the Congress of this great nation to manifest 
some considerations of respect and interest, and be willing to foster 
this great industry upon which the country depends so much? And 
yet, sir, when the representatives of the farmer ask the mere pittance 
of a re2)orf containing valuable information, stimulating industry 
and advising economy and frugality, gentlemen array themselves in 
all their powers of "tntored'^ eloquence", and lift their hands in holy 
horror at the awful prodigality of the friends of the farmer who pro- 
pose to x^rint and distribme two hundred and fifty thousand copies of 
the report on agriculture at the expense of the Government. 

I was amused and interested by the remarks of the honorable gen- 
tleman from New Jersey, [Mr. Phelps,] who caught this anti- agricul- 
tural spirit of enonomy and made this notable declaration as the pre- 
lude to his deliverance, which was uttered with tutored eloquence. 
He says : " I believe that a privilege for the few is an injustice to the 
many." This was wondrous strange to me, a declaration that demands 
qualification ; for in its literal application it contravenes the great 
princix^les of charity and Christian benevolence. The American Gov- 
ernment recognizes' no such contracted principle of faction, but, on 
the contrary, its very genius is to obtain that best of all evidence of a 
good government, the comfort, the happiness, the thrift of the masses, 
even at the apiKirent expense of the favored few, and the result of such 
action has been munificent, but not unjust. 

But who did the gentleman mean by the few and who by the many ? 
By the census of 1670 we have 5,863,707 farmers, planters, and agri- 
cultural laborers. I understand that farmers constitute three-fourths 
of the voters, and by far the largest number of the tax-payers of the 
country. I notice a statement in the Bulletin in which Iowa is re- 
ported'to have 60.07 per cent, farmers ; Kansas, 59 per cent. ; Minne- 
sota, 56.65 per cent. ; Wisconsin, 54.53 per cent. ; Nebraska, 52.73 per 
cent.; Missouri, 52.20 per cent.; Illinois, 50.32 per cent.; Michigan, 
46.39 per cent. ; New York, 25 per cent. ; Pennsylvania, 24.03 per 
cent. ; Connecticut, 22.56 per cent., and the manufacturing States 
generally less. 

But, sir, I make great allowance for this masterly eifort of the gen- 
tleman as touching this ''ghost" that so haunts him — two hundred 
and fifty thousand copies of the Agricultm-al Report to be given to 
the farmers of the country! That would be a taxjxr capita of say 
five mills. Was it strange' that this ghost would not down at his bid- 
ding ? He said, " not twenty-five hundred, not five thousand, but 
two hundred and fifty thousand!" His mind was greatly exercised ; 
shocking enough to wake up any millionaire of the country. Not only 



was he liorritied, but he expressed his admh'atiou of the '' audacity" of 
the gentleman from Iowa who reported the resohition to print. Auda- 
cious wretch! And he calls up his ''indefatigable friend" from Maine 
for his iuiidelity to economy. Surely he has not been delinquent. And 
more ; he arraigns the '' father of the House," because he '' utterly 
refused to prophesy." But mark, he lifts the cloud from the brow of 
the " brave and eloquent" gentleman from New York, my distinguished 
colleague, [Mr. Woodford,] much to my delight. But now he appre- 
hends the "inexplicable decision;" it was the grangers; and he 
serves up a delectable dish to the grangers of ISew Jersey. He says : 
" Who Avants the franking i^rivilege f I pause for reply. The gran- 
gers want it. I am not a granger ; I do not want to give them what 
they want. I say it very boldly. I do not like granger principles." 

Sir, that settles the question between the gentleman and the gran- 
gers of New Jersey, and I understand there are not a few in that State. 
But henceforth there will not be found a granger in that State so poor 
as to do him reverence. 

But what are the principles of the grangers, that so nauseate and 
disgust the gentleman! It is due the grangers, that are so roughly 
liandled, to iuiiuire ; therefore, I read from their i^latform, to wit : 

To develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood among ourselves to 
enhance the comforts and attractions of our homes and strengthen our attachment 
to onr pursuits; to foster mutual understanding and co-operation ; to maintain in- 
violate our laws, and to emulate each other in hibor ; to diversify our crops, and crop 
no more than we can cultivate ; to systematize our work and calculate intelligently 
on probabilities ; to discountenance the credit system, the fashion system, and every 
other system tending to prodigality and bankruptcy. 

What awful declarations! How they grate on the ear of the highly 
cultivated and sensitive mind! 

Mr. Speaker, these are the avowed principles that brought the hon- 
orable gentleman to his feet to '• boldly" express his disgust. But, sir, 
I dilfer with the gentleman, and with "tiututored" eloquence shall 
approve, advocate, and sustain this platform as worthj' of all commen- 
dation. I know nothing of the detail of this organization, but, corn- 
ing from the farm and expecting to return to it, these declarations 
meet my hearty approval ; and for their furtherance I ask this House 
to pass the bill under consideration, as conducive to the advancement 
and success of the greatest and most important industry in the coun- 
try. I dex)recate the necessity that justifies organizations whose prov- 
ince it is to foster special industries ; but, sir, the necessity seems 
to have arisen when the farmers of this country are called upon to 
X)rotect themselves. 

There is manifestly a disposition in this Congress to undervalue the 
importance of agriculture. As I have said hetore, forty-three gentle- 
men of the House have put themselves on record in favor of a reso- 
lution, " without unnecessary delay to wind up, discontinue, and 
abolish the Department of Agriculture by the 1st day of July, 1875." 
This was frank, open, and manly; far more so, in my estimation, 
than to withold the printing and prevent the free distribution of re- 
ports, seeds, «Scc., which is the peculiar province of this department, 
and without which it becomes valueless. The genius of this Gov- 
ernment permits no such stinted measure. Education, commerce, 
manufactures, railroads, mining, and internal improvements gener- 
ally have received Uberally of the Government. What has been the 
result ? These aids " to the few have not proven an injustice to the 
many," but have resulted in developments and successes that make 
ours the noblest, the freest, and the best Government on earth, and if 



continued ^Ul yet crown us the almoners of the civilized world 
Shall the agriculturist be ignored ? I trust not. Let us have an Ex- 
ecutive Department of Agriculture and Industry; bring into that 
Department all kindred interests — public lands, labor in its relation 
to education and capital, transportation of agricultural products, 
economic i)]ants, preservation of timber, prevention of cruelty to ani- 
mals, fish culture, and the many interests ajjpropriately connected 
therewith. But, sir, I must hope against hope, unless there comes a 
change over not a few who now grace the Halls of Congress. 

Sir, I think the farmers of this country have reason to complain. 
I have been not a little exercised in my mind on this subject. I 
charged the honorable gentleman from Indiana some days since with 
expressions of low estimate of the Agricultural Department by de- 
claring an improvement to the building as unworthy and as a matter 
oi ^' mere fancy. '^ I will do him no injustice. He did favor agricul- 
ture. So does the honorable gentleman from Iowa, [Mr. Ivasson,] 
and also the gentleman from New Jersey. But it is to favor agricul- 
ture as it has heen rather than as it is and ought to be. It is in fact 
to honor us as worthy to labor and toil, and feed on hog and hominy. 
But when Ave assert that we are entitled to a place in the great army of 
progression ; when we seek to make our homes cheerful and happy by 
the inspiration of the exquisite productions of nature, surrounding 
our homes with the beautiful flowers so refining and elevating, and 
desire to enable our wives and daughters to meet us, as we come from 
the field tired and toil-worn, with the beautiful smiles of heaven, the 
exquisite flowers to mingle with their smiles, the gentleman from 
Indiana cries out mere fancy ! the gentleman from Iowa .curls his lip 
and talks of morning-glories ! and the gentleman from New Jersey 
goes into fits ! And herein is the justice and burden of our complaints, 
it is the low estimate put upon our high vocation. Sir, if there is a 
man in the land entitled to the comforts, the pleasures, the luxuries 
of " sweet Jwme," it is the farmer. If any ladies in the land are en- 
titled to the enjoyment of the exquisite blandishments of home, it is 
the wives and daughters of the farmer. If there are young men in 
the land that the Government is more interested in than others, they 
are the sons of the farmers of America, born, reared, and employed in 
that vocation that points directly and constantly up to Him 'whose 
munificent benefactions lead them to a living faith in the fatherhood 
of God and the brotherhood of man. For surely " the laborer is 
worthy of his hire." 

Sir, I have sometimes felt humiliated. An ex-member of Congress 
from Illinois [Mr. Farxswokth] openly stigmatized the Commis- 
sioner of Agriculture on this floor as a petty peculator, pilfering 
vegetables from the public gardens for his own table. The honorable 
gentleman from New York, [Mr. Cox,] so noted for his pleasantry — 
and no one enjoys it more than I do — caricatured the whole fraternity 
of farmers and convulsed the House with laughter by holding up a 
woodcut of a choice breeding-sow from Maryland or Pennsylvania, 
when at the same time, probably, the gentleman's stomach was digest- 
ing a choice bit of bacon brought to market by some enterprising 
farmer. But so far as this gentleman is concerned I ought not to 
complain, for the farmers of the State of New York settled the account 
with the gentleman last November much to their gratification if not 
to his satisfaction. His effort proved to be what the gentleman would 
call a political ''boomerang." 

The last Congress refused to print the Agricultural Report, not- 
withstanding it was prepared at great cost and labor. The present 



9 

Congress refuses to distribute the report, and therefore there is no 
propriety in printing. For some unknown reason to me, communica- 
tions from members of Congress were published in the papers before 
the convening of the present session, charging that the printing and 
distributing of the Agricultural Eeport would be gross prodigality. 
I read nothing about the cost of the Medical and Surgical History 
of the War, and other valuable documents ; and I do not make this 
mention because I am opposed to the printing and distribution of 
these valuable documents, for I am in favor of the Government print- 
ing and distributing reports and scientific works that cannot be so 
well obtained otherwise, and which may prove a public benefit. 

But, sir, I must close my remarks. I only regret my inability to 
do justice to the farmers of the country in presenting the claims of 
agriculture, which need not shrink from comparison with any other 
industry in the country. The farmers as a class must be regarded as 
the great conservative political power of the nation ; no communes, 
no mobocrats, no strikers, no corner-jobbers, or Black-Friday miscre- 
ants are to be found among the farmers. Sir, elevate the agricultur- 
ists of the country, and you contribute to the country's safety, to its 
patriotism, to its stability, to its honor. In conclusion, I quote a few 
words from the i^en of an able writer, which I commend for considera- 
tion: 

The modest reserve and quiet independence of our rural population have heretofore 
barred the great interests of agriculture from its proper prominence in the coimtry, 
while other interests more active and clamorous, with the advantage of association, 
abundant means, and concentrated effort, have often secured special protection at 
the expense of the farmer. Unfortunately this disiaclination to self-seeking and 
lack of ambition for public station result too generally in the selection from towns 
and cities of national legislators from other vocations, some of whom have little 
knowledge of the peculiar wants of the farming class, and many others mav have 
connections with other interests that may be brought into antagonism with those of 
agricultm-e. Farmers are learning their power, and are beginning to exercise it in 
self -protection if not for their own advantage. 

2l* 



LioKHKY OF CONGRESS 



003 075 117 6 



